2023 Building Trust Essay Contest

For the second year in a row, the Building Trust Essay Contest asks medical students to engage in a reflective writing exercise about their experiences with trust. This year, students are asked to tell a story that illustrates an experience where they or someone they know received, shared, or acted upon misinformation in a health care setting. Authors are encouraged to touch upon personal experiences with misinformation – how they have seen its effects on health care; how they have seen it spread; how medical students, residents, and practicing physicians may be contributing to the problem; and how they have participated in mitigating misinformation. In addition, authors may want to consider sharing what actions can be taken to build trust as an antidote to misinformation.

Submission requirements: The Building Trust Essay Contest is open to medical students at accredited schools of medicine in the United States. Submissions must be an original, unpublished essay of 750 words or less. Essays must be written in English and only one submission per student will be accepted.

Selection criteria: An independent panel of judges, to include a mix of medical students and faculty, will review and select up to four winning essays. Up to 10 honorable mentions will also be awarded. Essays will be judged on the following equally weighted criteria:

• Content and connection to the topic of trust and misinformation
• Quality of writing and clarity of thought
• Novelty of the message
• Opportunity for others to learn

The Prize: Up to four winners will each receive:

• An invitation to the ABIM Foundation’s annual Forum (July 28-30, 2023, in Asheville, NC), which includes:
  • Travel to and from Asheville, NC
  • Three (3) nights lodging (Friday, Saturday, Sunday nights)
  • A stipend for meals and incidentals
• Complimentary registration for AMSACon 2023 (June 15-17 in Phoenix, AZ)

Publication/Promotion: Select essays will be published in the July-August edition of The New Physician magazine, and published on the AMSA website, social media, and in a monthly newsletter(s). Essays will also be published on the ABIM Foundation’s website, promoted on social media, and in newsletter(s).